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Yahoo! mail problems

One of my clients had a problem earlier today. I helped them choose a new email setup, and they went with Yahoo Business Edition Mail. It’s worked like a charm for them until today. Oh, sure, they’ve had to adjust their business processes a bit, but it was a vast improvement over their previous situation, where only allowed one person in to view his or her mailbox at a time. And it’s quite low maintenance and fairly easy to learn, as it was entirely browser based.

But today, the web client for Yahoo! was busted. New layouts, new colors, old functionality gone, intermittent changes in the GUI, the whole bit. I got on the phone with Yahoo! support, and they assured me it was simply a webmail client problem. No mail was being lost. But, as Joel explains, for most folks, the interface is the program. You try explaining the difference between SMTP and POP and mail storage and local clients to an insurance agent who just wants to send her customers an application.

One of the worst bits is that, other than getting on the phone with Yahoo! support, there was absolutely nothing I could do to fix the problem. Alright, this isn’t entirely true–I could have worked on migrating them off the web client, and perhaps off Yahoo! entirely. And, had the outage continued, I probably would have begun that process. But fixing the web client was entirely out of my hands. That’s the joy and the pain of outsourcing, right? The problems aren’t yours to fix (yay!) but you can’t fix the problems yourself (boo!). Also, chances are the outsourcing provider is never going to be more enthusiastic than you about fixing your problems, and might be significantly less.

361 thoughts on “Yahoo! mail problems

  1. bear says:

    My only problem currently with yahoo is that when I close out the yahoo mail window & return to my desktop, explorer hangs for 1-3 minutes. I am unable to do anything, just wait or ctrl-alt-del & restart. I have windows ME with IE 6sp1. Anybody have a solution for this. It’s the only site that does it.

  2. tobi says:

    anyone experiencing this problem?

    i am a yahoo plus user. for the past several days i have not been able to access my INBOX nor delete any messages. further more, an email i wrote in my SENT box shows an attachment of over 4GBs, which is 2GBs more than the storage and way over the 10MB allow per mail. however, everything else works…but is of no good since i cant get into the main INBOX.

    can anyone help?

    thanks,
    tobias@terminalfive.com

  3. bonecrusher says:

    If anyone out there has YAHOO/SBC-YAHOO email accounts, has anyone had a problem sending email to JUNO.COM users? I am consistently getting an ‘ACCESS DENIED’ error on the bounce back msg. I think it is JUNO’s feeble attemt to limit SPAM to their users. Or at least this is my guess. Anyone else had a similiar problem. Or has anyone ever been able to send email from SBC-YAHOO to JUNO? My friend can send me meail to the SBC account, I just can’t send her mail. So I finally (on a fluke) tried sending from my new GMAIL account, and bingo-it worked! So this is why I have a feeling it is just JUNO’s fault, and they need to fix their MX servers…

    -bc

  4. CLAIRE says:

    WHY is it?
    every time i go to log on to change my profile i cant get message , “This page is currently unavailable. Unfortunately, we are unable to process your request at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later ”

    WHAT IS GOING ON.

  5. justin says:

    i want to know more about yahoomail and how to check some one else password

  6. Buddy says:

    I had problem with yahoo email and until now I could not find the solution to this problem. Someone can help me about this? Because I can’t write, reply or ever delete the message that I want to delete and onething I can do is to read the messages nothing more. Recently I used MOZILLA BROWSER but some features to the yahoo mail was gone, and also I could not play music radio that I did before so now I don’t know what to do. Someone who knows about this promlem just email at sbh19692004@yahoo.com

  7. Erik says:

    I am a Yahoo! Mail Plus user and was getting 25MB storage before Yahoo upgraded its free accounts to 100MB and Mail Plus accounts to 2GB. So I got a notifying email from Yahoo, saying that I now have 2GB and no banners, but when I looked at my inbox capacity meter, it showed 100MB, not 2GB. I do not have banners, so I am definetely on a Mail Plus account, not a free acount, but why 100MB??

    Trying to contact Yahoo is a joke, every time I email any of their contact emails, I get an automated response recommending me to go to their help pages, where they say ‘all’ questions are answered or to fill out a feedback form, which was hidden far away and when I managed to find it and filled it out, I still got an automated response telling me to go to their help pages. No mention of feedback form this time.

    Is phoning Yahoo, really the only option to contact them? I am asking because I’ll be calling from Austrlia and can expect a bit of a wait (as usual with large companies) before they pick up, costing an international calling rate.

    I am also woundering what will happen when I go over 100MB limit (I’m currently at 55%). Will Yahoo threaten with removing my files if I don’t remove some myself and eventually do so if I don’t? How dumb is that?

    Or maybe I should wait them to remove my files and sue them after for my lost files? I have paid for a 2GB inbox, not 100MB and loss of my files will be entirely their fault.

    Does anyone else have same problem?

    Thanks

  8. Jesse says:

    Hello…I had the same problem…as soon as i clicked on my “imbox” link the page would time out….then i decided to check whether my routers firewall had anything to do with it…so i connected my modem (dsl) straight to my computer (as opposed to going through the router then to all the computers in the house)…guess what…it worked…yahoo was fine…the problem was the routers firewall……..check your firewalls!!

  9. cow says:

    Ok here is a problem a co-worker has encountered: He gets the 999 error page when trying to sign in with HIS username and password on HIS computer. He also get the error page when trying to sign in with HIS info on MY computer. I can sign in using MY info on MY computer–but not on HIS computer.

    We tried clearing the cache and cookies, tried using Firefox 0.91, tried using the secure login, tried login in via Yahoo! Chat, tried adding Yahoo! to the trusted sites list…

    I was thinking it’s all Yahoo’s problem, but why would MY username and password fail on only HIS computer if that was the case??? So I think it’s a combination of Yahoo! and some local settings that aren’t quite right.

    All our machines are behind a firewall, but that isn’t the problem because I can sign in with MY info on MY computer.

    My co-worker wrote Yahoo! for help last month but hasn’t heard back from them. I checked all through Yahoo! Help but turned up absolutely nothing.

    Anyone else have any other things to try?

  10. Gene says:

    Since June 15, 2004 my bulk folder isn’t working. No spam-mail lands in it anymore, although the Spam-Guard is enabled and the settings are correct. Customer service has verified that it is true, by sending fake spam messages to my inbox and confirming that they were not directed into the bulk folder but into my inbox. They told me to be patient. I replied to an email from Customer_Support@sbcis.sbc.com asking for an update, but the email bounced back as undeliverable!!!! A friendly employee from SBC/Global called me a month ago, asking about the problem. She told me to call her if the problem wasn’t solved within two weeks. Well, I called her and left a message, she never returned the call.
    Has anybody else experienced the same problem???

  11. Fancy says:

    I had a yahoo acct de activated for no apparent reason. I am not sure what to do. The thing is I also had a yahoo group too. It’s still up and running. My profile is still active and searchable. I wanted to go in and delete certain advertising that looks like it wants to take over my group. I am wondering was it really yahoo who shut me or was it spammers. I have no nudity on the site at all. It’s in the health section it’s a group about make up. I have members of all ages and lifestyles. I am not really sure what to do. Also, I did send a customer care form but it acts as if it does not understand. Above is my yahoo group. You can say I am moderating from the sidelines. I wish they would delete everything or reinstate my acct. If anyone has any idea what could have happened I would greatly appreciate it.

  12. Linux says:

    I had same problem with IE6, it worked with Netscape 7.1 !!

  13. sirusmaster says:

    HELLO, I RECENTLY GOT YAHOO’S MESSENGER AND MAIL. I WOULD LIKE TO CANCEL THAT IMMEDIATLY IT IS CAUSING ME DIFFICULTIES TO LOG ON TO MY AOL INSTANT MESSENGER. SO IF YOU CAN CANCEL MY ACCOUNT THAT WOULD BE GREATTHANK YOU FOR LISENTING PLEASE GET BACK TO ME

  14. Alan says:

    I thought I was the only one having problems with yahoo mail. I now just get a lot of garbled rubbish when trying to acces my mail, I can still get into my address book, notepad etc but cannot get into my mail ?
    I have even registered another yahoo account to check there was nothing wrong with my settings, and the new account works fine. It’s now been approx. 2 weeks since I have been able to check my mail, you can only email yahoo for support but only got an automated response back.
    Yahoo…………get your act together
    Alan

  15. BIT0101 says:

    We were having this problem recently. We found the cause of the problem in a dns record.

    Our A dns record does not match with the A record.

  16. piero says:

    Still can’t get yahoomail to work. But there’s a possible solution that will let you read you messages. Note that you won’t make any replies or anything else, just read your messages. Try entering http://www.thecloak.com, enter yahoomail address in the URL field and start surfing! It only works once a day, but it’s better than nothing. Good luck. Piero (from Lima, Peru).

  17. jennifer_dougal says:

    want to start over becouse some one change my pass word and when want to get new one and i did and it won’t work so want to save my mail so i can check it so can you please help me

  18. john says:

    i would like help please i am trying to get rid of yahoo mail,but i want to keep yahoo messenger how do i do that

  19. yahooSucks says:

    Hey check it out – Talked to someone in customer service – likely a friggin indian following a silly help desk script. He said he could not help us out. “But we need to get into our email!!!”. Sorry can’t help you with email.

    Keep the outsourcing trend going. Foreigners following scripts. Nice Yahoo! Bye bye!

  20. chris says:

    five days and i can not get into my inbox. i have read this entire page and tried every suggestion, nothing works. i e-mailed and called yahoo and they don’t give a shit. can someone please tell me what to do. PLEASE

  21. Hareesh Haridas says:

    I STILL don’t get why people are going mad at Yahoo. I don’t know about the paid yahoo, but the free yahoo mail service sure beats the others. I’ve been an ardent hotmail fan; unfortunately all my friends use msn messenger and i’ve got no other option than to follow msn. I want everyone to switch to yahoo immediately. Why?..well check out this comparison:

    1) Firstly, the most important, that is to say, the storage space…100 MB provided by yahoo compared to a measly 2 MB by hotmail..i’m talking about the free service.

    2) Then the attachment size limit. Yahoo shines with 3 MB, and hotmail giving 1MB, well that’s half of its storage limit, you can expect your mail to bounce back if you use the entire 1 MB message limit.

    3) Lastly, the junk mail folder. While yahoo keeps its contents for one whole month, hotmail empties it every five days, ensuring that you lose your important messages addressed to mailing lists in which you are included. Well there are times when i won’t be able to access my mail for more than 5 days, esp. while going camping or trekking (this is my case, and i dont have a laptop- even if i had, i’d be a jerk in front of my friends if i carried it around.)

    Please note that all these apply to their free services, not the yahoo or hotmail plus service. Also note that i was a stubborn hotmail fan before being impressed by yahoo.
    (you may ask- why then did i opt for hotmail first?…well.. they say first impressions count…i liked the name ‘hotmail’ better than ‘yahoo’. yahoo? quite a name!

    With best regards
    Hareesh Haridas

    PS: I sympathise with yahooSucks who has been a victim of outsourcing. I hope it stops, but, well, you know, the Indians are not to blame. (i’m an indian) The ones really to blame are the profit motivated established company big shots. (they are Americans) You know, USA has a capitalist economy (that’s what i learned), and therefore profit, and not welfare, is the motive. If you want the government to think of the welfare of the people first, then the economy must be socialist. Like that of the former Soviet Union or China; but then again, i heard Americans don’t like that kind.

  22. Sharon says:

    I read that you got on the line with Yahoo support.
    What is their phone number?
    I cannot find it on any of their pages.
    My password mysteriously no longer works and I haven’t been able to access my email in days.
    None of their “form letters” solutions work to resolve the problem. I am beyond frustration with them.

  23. Donna says:

    I read that you got on the line with Yahoo support.What is their phone number? Or has then been a solution that can be sent. One id works and even new one works. But the one I used for so long does not. It is my mail, im, mobile, everything. Plus I have paid services with this id.

    My password mysteriously no longer works and I haven’t been able to access my email in days.
    None of their “form letters” solutions work to resolve the problem. I am beyond frustration with them.

    I am having the same problem as Sharon noted.

  24. Hareesh Haridas says:

    I too would like to get Yahoo support’s phone number. Could those who phoned in give me the number?
    Thanx!
    Hareesh Haridas

  25. Prof says:

    We recently installed a ADSL line and work and my yahoo is very slow, when i finally open my email account – and when i click on the inbox – a blank page appears – can’t find site.. or some thing like that – what mus i do?

  26. Dingo says:

    AHHH!!!! Yahoo sucks!! I have no been able to send any out going messages for over three weeks. I can type in the subject field but when i try to type a message or to send an attachment i can’t. has anyone heard anything about what is going on? Is there any tech support from yahoo? This is getting really frustrating. I’ve been using yahoo forever and don’t really want to change but email isn’t much good if you can never respond.

  27. Tom stone says:

    Ok I had the error 999 page unavailable please try again later… and in IE I went to Internet options… advanced… and made sure use java was selected (I share a cube at work and have not been able to login for some time… turns out the other guy who sits here installed a 3rd party java controller, which turned off the option in IE to use its own java interface) this allows me to log in… I hope this helps… because I know how frustrating this problem has been for the past 2 weeks.

  28. Tom stone says:

    Unable to process request at this time — error 999
    Unfortunately, we are unable to process your request at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later.
    still prevailing over me… after the initial rboot had worn off… the very next time I tried to log in… got the same error as shown above…

  29. bs says:

    Now, after some rearrangements in my PC, I am not able to compose,yahoomail, can somebody suggest for remedy
    waiting to hear sincerely B Subramonian

  30. teri says:

    i can get emails and read them and forward them.but i go to my address book to compost and hit insert that address and the screen goes blank.i have contacted several places and nobody and help me without money. i am not very good with computers and cannot afford to have errors fix all the time.can you help with this problem

  31. lokanath says:

    Dear sir somebody hack my passwords ..my id is hotmale4u143@yahoo.com and my password is hacked by a user….so somebody hack my passwords..so sir can u help me how do i get my passwords back ferom them plz…give em e clue…itis important for me..

    thanikingyou

  32. Mr. Yahoo says:

    Haha, funny how dumb u have 2 be to not get into emails.

  33. fstead says:

    I have two yahoo email accounts. One that is about 6 years old, and a newer one.

    I’ve never had a login problem with my older address, I’m able get in everytime. With the newer address however, I’m having the same trouble everybody is having. I can only login about 5 percent of the time. Some days I can’t get in at all. It is unbelievably frustrating!

    This crap has gone on too long. Complain to yahoo about this at:
    http://add.yahoo.com/fast/help/us/privacy/cgi_feedback?radio30=radio305

  34. oxynail says:

    Could login to Yahoo but couldn’t open the inbox. Problems began when we setup a router. Lower the MTU and you should be fine.

  35. Ricky Boy says:

    Its easy to complain aboi=uyt a free service isn’t it. the World owes you all a favour

  36. webber dream says:

    Do you work for Yahoo then Ricky boy?

  37. Ricky Boy says:

    I meant about – not sure what aboi=yht means – I think its something to do with a calculation on the theory of evolution that I have been working on or something.

  38. Ricky Boy says:

    Listen Webber wetdream I work for myself and my aim is to rid the Internet of all the free loaders and moaners!! You don’t get nothing in this world for free so all you scroungers out there Get a Job and if you want a perfect service – pay for it.

  39. soumya says:

    I am getting some blank mails as an attachments and they have got affected with virus. So I can’t view them. So please tell me how to stop this.

  40. Brandon says:

    I’m having problems with yahoo mail. I can log into it fine. I’m not able to send anything though. I’ve been receiving emails fine. It will let me type the address and subject but will not let me type the message. Its like the message box is froze. Anyone else have this problem?

  41. kissychristina says:

    i can sign in but when i go to get my inbox its blank, totaly blank. i dont know what to do. any help out there???

  42. DDas says:

    WHAT IS GOING ON AND WHY is it?
    every time i go to log on to yahoo mail i get message , “This page is currently unavailable. Unfortunately, we are unable to process your request at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later ”
    This is goin on since last five days and i don’t know when this will be repaired?
    One funny thing is that if i open one new yahoo mail address, then the new id is accessable for one time only. Next time it is not possible.
    ANYBOBY CAN HELP?
    DDas.

  43. angel says:

    i cannot access my mails when ever i try to get into yahoo mails cookies comes up i tried exactly what they told me to do but nothing works ,i am fustrated

  44. Diane says:

    Is there live help at yahoo? And if there is, do they have a clue? I deleted my mail account, with hopes of senders being notified of this action. NO. Mail is NOT being returned to sender. I have wrote a zillion letters and no go. Why on earth don’t they close my account, or at least give me the mail which is in it??????

  45. Tim says:

    I can’t access my yahoo mail. I try to sign on and I get no error the only thing that happens is the login page refreshes with my login and password fields cleared out. Has been happening for more then 24 hours now. Any ideas?

  46. Abe says:

    My yahoo email stopped working, it claimed that my password is not valid. So I tried to get a new password, but it did not recognize my secret.

    After one hour it started working again.

    I am waiting for gmail, Yahoo is from the old generation of Internet pioneers and it is time that they innovate or loose market share. I have 2GB space from their mail plus. But I think there is a lot of incompetent people running the show there.

    The biggest incompetence is not having 24/7 live support. Call centers are available around the globe to do these jobs, all that is needed is to find companies with good integrity who will not divulge or sell members info or a system, where the support people do not have access to members email or other personal info.

  47. carlos says:

    my yahoo mail acount its too slow.Can you help me?

  48. bigdummy says:

    No user using a particular subnet at my office is able to login to Yahoo. Outside of the one subnet logins to Yahoo are OK. Tried all of the “solutions”. None worked. Yahoo must be blocking certain IPs for some reason. I guess we have been improperly blacklisted in some kind of anti-spam/anti-hacker test.

  49. gem says:

    Trying to Google a fix for this issue and saw this thread … I am having a similar problem – about a week 1/2 ago my Yahoo email interface suddenly changed – its now plain white BG with standard text, no ads, no nothing – I seem to be able to receive mail okay but CANNOT SEND ANY – I can compose mail (but no longer have the WYSIWYG editor, its just plain text) and when I hit send, it gives me a blank white page that says “done” in the taskbar. Checking my sent folder, there is no record of the mail there at all.

    I’ve tried everything – AdAware, Spyware Doctor, Spybot S&D, Housecall by TrendMicro, emptying my cache, resetting my browser to all the default settimgs, even did a system restore to a week or so before this happened – nothing is working.

    Yahoo support got back to me and said they could not recreate the problem …
    So what now? This is my business email and I can’t use it.

  50. muhamad says:

    i have the same problem,so i cant sign in my yahoo account in my home ,in the work i can sign and do what i want to do,so plz to the support help me coz i have a many of emails i need it…
    thank you all..

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